One year after receiving a damaging audit report from the Illinois auditor general, the Rend Lake Conservancy District has taken "great strides" in turning the corner.

At least that's the assessment from Keith Thomason, general manager at the RLCD. During a meeting Monday, Thomason told board members the district has addressed all 16 recommendations handed down by the auditor general.

"I've said since I was hired that I thought it would take at least two years to get where we wanted to be, but we are continuing to plug away at all the recommendations from the auditor general and we feel like we're headed in the right direction and we're committed to addressing the issues that were identified," Thomason said.

The audit was released in late September last year and revealed that during the past decade the RLCD had transferred more than $10 million from the inter-city water fund to the recreation fund without board approval and in direct violation of statutes established by the River Conservancy District Act

Thomason said one of the first measures addressed by the board was to establish guidelines stating all recreational assets at the district must be self-sustaining. The audit also showed the board had never had an in-house legal or engineering department for more than 30 years, in violation of its own ordinance. That issue has also been corrected, Thomason said.

The management and program audit identified areas of deficiency ranging from failing to have a written personnel policy to improper control of time records. The financial audit found 15 areas that had to be improved. It included findings that the district did not follow the bidding requirements of the River Conservancy Act and awarded contracts during the previous year totaling more than $1 million without bidding the goods or services to the lowest bidder.

Both audits spelled out numerous problems in virtually every aspect of the district and painted a picture of no accountability at the RLCD.

"There are 16 different recommendations by the auditor general with different bullet points under each recommendation," said Thomason. "We've addressed some or all of the points in all 16 recommendations so we're continuing to show progress. We've strived to provide direction and attention to all the details at the district and in turn that has provided much more accountability."

Thomason said the district also has completed interviews with engineering firms concerning the much anticipated upgrade at the wastewater treatment plant. He said the district is now negotiating with a single firm. Thomason declined to name the firm until all the details are finalized.

"We're down to a single firm and we hope to have them on board very shortly but first we have to make sure we can negotiate an acceptable fee for the district," Thomason said. "The contract will call for the firm to evaluate each and every component at the plant and determine whether it needs to be replaced or repaired. They'll come in and do a complete assessment of the entire plant and from that we'll be able to determine if we need to upgrade the existing plant or build a new plant."

Thomason said the board also approved a measure for the district to submit a request to the state to build an additional conference center.

"This is so preliminary that it might not mean much right now," Thomason said. "The original master plan for the district many years ago was to build a large convention center near the artisan shop, something very large that could house 500 people for fishing shows, golf shows, boat shows and things like that. We're going to send a request to the state to see if they would provide funding and we would provide the land. It's in the very initial stage, but the process has started."

writeon1@shawneelink.net

618-625-2006